MINERALS AND ENERGY RESOURCES

1. Minerals

Alluvial deposits or placer deposits: Found in the sand of valley floors and the base of hills, for example, Gold, Silver, Tin and Platinum. Rathole mining is A long narrow tunnel made by a few individuals for coal mining in the northeast is called rat-hole mining.

Ferrous minerals

Iron ore: Iron ore is the backbone of industrial development. Magnetite is the finest iron ore in India with 70% of iron content. Hematite ore contains 50-60% 0f iron content. The major iron ore belts in India are

• Odisha- Jharkhand belt: Hematite ore is found in Badampar mines.
• Durg- Bastar-Chandrapur belt: Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. Hematite ore is exported to Japan and South Korea via Vishakhapatnam port. It is best for steel making.
• Bellary- Chitradurga-Chikmaglur- Tumkar belt: Kudermukh mines in Karnataka are 100% export units. It is one of the largest deposits in the world. Iron ore transportation is done through the slurry pipeline to a port in Mangalore.
• Maharashtra- Goa belt: ores are not good quality and are exported through Marmagao port.

Manganese: Orissa is the largest producer of Manganese ores. It is mainly used in the manufacturing of steel and Ferro-manganese alloy, bleaching powder, insecticides and paints. 10 kg of manganese is required to manufacture one ton of steel.

Non-ferrous minerals

Copper:  it is mainly used in electrical cables, electronics and chemical industries. The Balaghat mines in Madhya Pradesh, Khatri mines in Rajasthan and Singhbhum district of Jharkhand are leading producers of copper.

Bauxite:  Odisha is the largest bauxite-producing state.  Bauxite deposits are formed by the decomposition of a wide variety of aluminium silicates. It is mainly found in the Panchpatmali deposits in Odissa, Amarkantak plateau, Baikal hills and the plateau region of Bilaspur-katni.

Non- metallic Minerals

Mica: It is made up of a series of plates or leaves. It can be clear, black, green, red, yellow or brown, Due to its de-electric strength. It is used in the electric and electronic industries. It is found on the northern edge of the Chota Nagpur plateau, kodermagaya- Hazaribagh belt of Jharkhand, Ajmer in Rajasthan is the leading producer and Nellore in Andhra Pradesh.

Rock minerals

Limestone: is composed of calcium carbonates or calcium and magnesium carbonates. It is the raw material for the cement industry.

Hazards of mining: Dust and noxious fume inhalation cause pulmonary diseases. There is a high risk of collapsing mine roofs and fires in coal mines. The water resources in the region are contaminated due to mining. Dumping of waste and slurry leads to degradation of land, and soil and an increase in stream and river pollution.

3. Conservation minerals

Energy resources are of two types they are conventional resources and non-conventional resources. Conventional resources include firewood, cattle dunk cake, coal, petroleum, natural gas and electricity [both thermal and hydel]. Non-conventional resources include solar, wind, tidal, geothermal, biogas and atomic energy.

Conventional Sources of Energy

• Coal: Coal is formed due to the compression of plant material over millions of years. Lignite is low-grade brown coal; Bituminous is high-grade and popular for commercial use. Anthracite is the highest quality hard coal. Coal mines are located in Damodar Valley [West Bengal- Jharkhand], Jharia, Raniganj, Bokaro, the Godavari, Mahanadi, Son and Wardha valleys. Tertiary coals occur in Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.
• Petroleum: Petroleum or mineral oil occurs in the anticlines and fault traps in the rock formation of the tertiary age. Gas is a lighter layer that occurs above the oil. Petroleum production is high in Mumbai, Gujarat, and Assam. Assam is the oldest oil-producing state in India. Digboi, Naharkatiya and Moran-Hugrijan are important fields.
• Natural gas: Natural gas is considered an environmentally friendly fuel because of its low carbon emissions. Reserves are found in the Krishna-Godavari basin, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the west coast of Mumbai. 1700 km of long gas pipeline links Mumbai and Bastien.
• Hydroelectricity: It is produced by running water which drives hydro turbines to generate hydroelectricity. For example Bhakra Nangal, Damodar Valley Corporation, the Kopili hydel project etc.
• Thermal electricity: Drive turbines to produce thermal electricity by burning coal, petroleum, and natural gas. There are over 310 thermal power plants in India.

Non-conventional source of energy

• Nuclear or atomic energy: It is obtained from altering the structure of the atoms. it releases heat to generate electric power. Uranium and thorium are available in Jharkhand and the Aravalli ranges of Rajasthan.
• Solar energy: Photovoltaic energy converts sunlight into electricity.
• Wind power: It is the process by which the wind is used to generate mechanical power or electricity. The largest wind farm cluster is in Tamil Nadu from Nagercoil to Madurai. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Lakshadweep have other important wind farms.
• Biogas: Shrubs, farm waste and animal and human waste are used to produce biogas. These are set up at municipal, cooperative and individual levels. The plants using cattle dung are known as Gobar gas plants.
• Tidal energy: Electricity is formed from the oceanic tides. Gulf of Khambhat, the Gulf of Kuchh in Gujarat, and the Gangetic delta Sunderban are ideal for tidal energy.
• Geo-Thermal Energy: The heat and electricity are produced by using heat from the interior of the Earth. Two experimental projects are Parvati Valley near Manikarn in Himachal Pradesh and Puga Valley, Ladakh.